Recoton Wireless 100 Speakers May Have A Bit Of Magic

November 27, 1987|By Rich Warren.

Recoton should conduct a contest for a musical theme for its newest product. I suggest ``Here, There and Everywhere`` by the Beatles, ``Do You Believe in Magic?`` by the Lovin` Spoonful, or perhaps Haydn`s ``Miracle``

Symphony. Place any of those on your turntable, tape deck or CD player, then go listen anywhere in the house, without any wires. Cue the opening bars of Richard Strauss` ``Also Sprach Zarathustra`` (the theme from ``2001``): We now present the Recoton Wireless 100 speakers.

Recoton has combined the best features from a number of products into the most useful stereo component in years. Koss designed wireless speakers, but the Koss Kordless, as they are called, work only in a line of sight with the infrared transmitter. They operate on batteries, which free them from the AC outlet but also limit their audio power and make operation expensive. The well-known Bose Roommates turn any personal portable into a great stereo but must be wired directly to the sound source, whether a Walkman or a stereo component.

The Recoton Wireless 100 speakers, comparable in sound quality to and only slightly larger than the Bose Roommates, employ your home`s AC wiring as speaker cable. Don`t worry about electrical shock. The AC wiring doesn`t actually carry sound but rather radio waves.

Simply plug the Recoton transmitter, which is the size of a paperback book, into the headphone jack or line outputs of your receiver, amplifier or any other stereo component. Adjust the level control of the transmitter so that its red LED (light-emitting diode) flashes on the loudest sounds. Then take the pair of toaster-sized speakers, plug one into the wall and wire the second to the speaker output terminals of the first. Push the power ``on``

button and adjust the volume. The 12-watt-per-channel built-in amplifiers powering the 4.5 inch speakers in their bass-reflex enclosures fill the room with whatever your receiver or other sound source is playing. They work anywhere in the house, even out on the patio.

Carrier current technology-which means imposing radio signals on power lines-has been around for decades. Many college radio stations used to operate that way in dormitories. The beauty of the Recoton system, designed by Larry Schotz, lies in its ability to transmit high-fidelity stereo sound. Schotz, who has contributed greatly to the field of FM-tuner technology under several brand names, designed a way to eliminate most noise and distortion while maintaining a wide frequency response. (Schotz also designed the Recoton stereo TV adapter, ``F.R.E.D.``)

Recoton guarantees almost the same frequency response as FM broadcasting

Listening tests confirmed these claims, although occasional hum did creep into the right channel. For lowest noise versus distortion you must set the level control at the transmitter carefully. A bit of static sometimes intrudes when the refrigerator kicks in or someone starts using electric power tools, but it`s insignificant.

The Wireless 100s can`t challenge a good pair of speakers wired directly to your stereo, but they eliminate the need to rip up your floor, ceiling and walls to run speaker cable. They make great outdoor speakers because they come and go with you, without the need for any speaker connections other than being plugged in. The Wireless 100 facilitates video surround-sound systems, eliminating the invariably awkward wiring from the decoder near the TV to the rear speakers.

My Wireless 100s were baptized with a fall from the table onto the floor. Other than the grille popping off, they continued working perfectly. The injection-molded plastic case seems impervious to most forms of abuse.

As mentioned earlier, the Wireless 100 works in any AC outlets supplied from same power-company transformer. (It doesn`t matter if the outlets are on different circuit within your home.) Because many small apartment buildings use a single transformer, more than one music buff enjoying the Wireless 100 would cause interference. Recoton hints that subsequent models will be tunable to different frequencies to eliminate this problem.

Cue the ``Hallelujah`` Chorus: A pair of Recoton Wireless 100s costs $260 complete with transmitter, and they`ll definitely be discounted. There are advantages to American technology manufactured in Taiwan. If you have problems locating the Wireless 100, call 800-223-6009 and hum the theme from ``The Sound of Music.``